


It's Gotta Get Easier, Somehow

by emraldmoon



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Iron Man - Freeform, Irondad, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Tony Stark, Spider-Man - Freeform, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-12 04:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20151697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emraldmoon/pseuds/emraldmoon
Summary: After months of seeking revenge, Peter finally finds Ben's murderer.Tony finds Peter in an alleyway, holding a knife to a civilian's neck.Told in both Peter and Tony's POV!





	It's Gotta Get Easier, Somehow

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the prompt by leopard-prompts on Tumblr, "Why don’t you give that to me?"
> 
> Huge thank you to Blondsak for editing this!! Your skills are amazing and I'm so so grateful, thank you!! <3

_ Peter _

It was supposed to be a simple mugging. Swing in, take the knife away from the offender, and web him up for the police - but that’s not how it turned out. Currently, Peter was standing above the clad-in-black criminal, pressing the knife against his neck, as the man he had seen in his nightmares for months swallowed thickly, trying to keep his delicate skin away from the blade. Somehow, Ben’s murderer had fallen right into Peter’s lap, and this time, Peter wasn’t going to screw up.

The victim was long gone, physically and in memory. Actually, the entire city of New York seemed to have disappeared, and all that remained was Spider-Man and the man who had murdered Spider-Man’s uncle. Good, and evil - though, it was unclear which side was which.

“Please,” the mugger begged pathetically, voice strained from where the knife was digging into his throat. He tried to back away, give himself room to breathe, but his back was pressed against the wall of the alleyway, and there was nowhere to go.

“Please, Spider-Man, I’m sorry- Look, I returned his wallet, I- I won’t do it again, I swear-”

“You murdered him,” Peter growled through gritted teeth in a voice too dark to be his own.

“I - I’m sorry, sir, but I didn’t kill no one-”

“October 13th,” he reminded the criminal, the criminal with the face he had seen on _ WANTED _posters and pages drawn on by sketch artists. The one that haunted his dreams - the one he had let get away.

Peter wasn’t letting him get away this time.

Peter saw realization cross the man’s face, but he stupidly decided to play dumb, infuriating Peter further.

“That day means nothing-”

“Stop lying!” Peter yelled, and he put more pressure against the knife. He took a sort of twisted pleasure from the few drops of blood that made their way down the man’s neck. “You shot him, because of your own cowardice. He did nothing wrong, and you _ killed _him!”

With his left hand, the one not holding the knife, Peter reached up and ripped off his mask, his fingers trembling with anger. The mask fell somewhere to the side, but Peter didn’t pay it any attention. He stared at the man with wide, red eyes and lips that twisted into a sadistic grin. He wanted the man to know who killed him. He wanted him to know just whose lives he affected by killing another man, a _ better _man, a man more worthy of living, all those months ago.

“Now I’m going to kill you.”

Peter, so caught up in his fury, almost missed the sound of thrusters powering down from behind him.

“Hi there, Spider-Man-”

“Get out of here, Tony.” 

Peter was too angered to care about pleasantries, vision clouded with red and focused solely on the terrified man in front of him. This was the night he had been dreaming of for months, ever since the first time he stepped out as Spider-Man, and no one, not even Tony Stark, could stop him now. Not when his final goal was so close at hand.

“Counter-offer,” Tony replied almost immediately, his voice closer than before and somehow calm. Why was it so _ calm? _ “I get you out of here, and we all get to go home.” _ We _ was referring to Tony, Peter, and _ Ben’s murderer _ \- and Peter couldn’t allow that.

“_ He killed Ben! _” Peter screamed, and the mugger began choking for breath against the knife. Peter could see the red marks it was leaving around his throat. Part of Peter’s mind yelled at him to let up, but the other part, the deeper part, the part he kept buried, encouraged him to keep applying pressure - and so he did.

“I know.” Tony’s voice was more frantic now - and getting closer. Peter held up his left hand without looking, stopping the man’s advance.

“Don’t come any closer.” The atmosphere stilled. Tony froze mid-step, teetering on the pavement. “I’m doing this tonight.”

“Spider-Man doesn’t hurt civilians.” Tony paused, letting the words sink in, and Peter realized he was crying. The knife drifted a few inches away from the mugger. “Good, that’s it-”

“He killed my uncle,” Peter sobbed, arm - and knife - trembling violently. The man’s eyes widened, but he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

“I know. I get it, Pete-”

“No, you _ don’t! _” Peter’s vision was becoming blurred with tears, sobs wracking violently through his body. “You- you never-”

“My parents,” Tony said quietly, voice coming from just outside Peter’s peripherals. “Howard and Maria. And Barnes…. But I made peace with him. You can, too.”

“This is my chance,” Peter whispered, watering eyes flickering to Tony. “I- I can finally right his wrongs-”

“Is this really right?” Tony stepped into Peter’s vision, and Peter’s eyes were torn between the mugger’s wide, terrified eyes and Tony’s calm, comforting ones that represented home. Evil, and good - and this time the lines weren’t so blurred.

“Why don’t you give that to me?” Tony whispered, holding out a gauntlet-covered hand, palm up. Peter’s eyes flashed down to it, then to the knife. Then to the mugger’s face, and his teeth grit together in anger, knuckles white - then to Tony, and his arm trembled, hand growing slack.

“C’mon, Pete. Spider-Man protects civilians.”

“Even the bad ones?”

“Especially the bad ones.”

Peter turned his head to look at Tony, tears flowing freely down his face. “I don’t know how to stop.”

“Okay,” Tony whispered soothingly. “Why don’t we start…” 

Tony’s hand reached out and encompassed Peter’s own before he slowly slid the knife out. Peter let him, arm falling limply to his side once it had nothing to do. His body sagged forward and he sighed - whether with relief that he was stopped before anything could be done or despair at missing his chance, Peter couldn’t tell

“... with this.”

Peter felt Tony place a hand on his shoulder and turn him around. Peter reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the man and collapsed against Tony’s chest. The criminal ran out of the alleyway at the first sign of freedom, Peter’s head turning to watch at the movement. Tony’s arms clasped tighter around Peter, as if to keep him from chasing - but Peter wasn’t planning to.

“Friday,” Tony murmured as he held Peter flush against his chest. “Can you-”

“Already on it,” Friday’s pleasant voice responded, and Tony hummed, clutching Peter tighter, allowing the nanotech of his suit to fade back into the arc reactor. Human contact without the metal of the suit soothed Peter, and he fell deeper into Tony’s embrace, burying his face into the nook where Tony’s neck and shoulder met.

“What do I say to May?” Peter whispered, voice sounding torn.

“You tell her you saved a life.”

“But I was the one to endanger it-”

“But you restrained yourself. You fought your instincts and you _ did what was right _ , and I am so, _ so _proud of you.”

Peter sniffled. “He knows my name and face-”

“We’ll figure it out,” Tony supplied, and Peter figured that was as good as an answer as any. He let his body relax as he fell against Tony - but not his mind.

Never his mind.

  * ••

_ Tony _

Tony blasted through the chilled night air towards Queens, following the GPS tracker Friday had put on his display after she had alerted him.

“_ Peter is currently threatening a civilian.” _

_ “Is it Flash again?” Tony had sighed, rolling his eyes slightly at the stupidity of high school students; but what Friday said next had him bolting upright from his chair. _

_ “It is a street mugger, and Peter is threatening him with a knife.” _

Tony caught sight of the kid in an alleyway - but he looked different. His back was hunched, leaning forward in a threat, and his shoulders were raised, like the hackles of an animal. Swallowing thickly, Tony brought himself to land behind him just in time to hear Peter say, “Now I’m going to kill you.”

The words, said in a voice so much colder than Peter’s, sent chills down Tony’s spine, even more so than the position they were in. The civilian, who looked completely and utterly _ terrified _, had his back pressed against the wall, staring up at an unmasked Peter Parker, who was holding a pocket knife against his throat.

Tony’s pace quickened. Peter, a sweet, innocent, naïve boy who still played with LEGOs was currently in his Spider-Man - his _ hero _ \- costume, _ without _ the mask, threatening a civilian _ with a knife _.

_ What the heck? _

_ Okay. Okay, _ Tony thought. S _ tay calm. Peter needs you - and so does the civilian, for that matter. _

“Hey, Spider-Man,” he called carefully, forcing his voice to stay level. He was proud to say his efforts weren’t fruitless.

“Get out of here, Tony.”

Tony wanted to physically step back from the weight of his first name in Peter’s mouth, but he pressed on. He couldn’t leave Peter, not like this.

“Counter-offer.” Tony took a step forward, trying to keep his regular quip as not to alert Peter. He needed as much regularity as possible right now. “I get you out of here, and we all get to go home.” Well, _ home _ for some, _ prison _ for others - but prison was better than the alternative, bleeding out to death in an alleyway at the hands of one who called themselves a hero. (And rightfully so, in Tony’s mind, but if he didn’t do something soon, Peter was about to do something _ very _un-hero like.)

“_ He killed Ben! _” Peter shouted through gritted teeth. Tony saw Peter’s grip tighten around the knife and his knuckles whiten, and his victim began struggling for breath. 

_ Shit. _ Tony had to step in now, or who knew _ what _Peter would do? Whatever it was, Tony knew that once Peter came to his senses, he would never forgive himself - and the one thing Tony hated more than a violent kid was a guilt-ridden one, ironically enough.

“I know,” Tony said quickly, eager to get Peter to just drop the knife. In his haste he took a step forward - but that was the wrong move.

Peter held up a shaky hand in his direction, fingers spread like Iron Man’s repulsors, but he didn’t even spare Tony a glance.

“Don’t come any closer.” His voice was so unnaturally calm that it stopped Tony in his tracks. “I’m doing this tonight.”

“Spider-Man doesn’t hurt civilians.” Tony said the words slow, deliberately pausing to let them sink in - and they were having an effect. Peter’s arm began to shake, and he began to cry - quietly, but evidently. The knife dipped slightly, if only by a few inches, and Tony took another step towards the kid. “Good, that’s it-”

But his words disturbed the peace, and soon the knife was back at the man’s throat.

“He killed my uncle,” Peter sobbed, and even from a distance, Tony could see how violently his arm was shaking. The knife was leaving red marks against the victim’s neck, atop the pooled blood that was already drying, and Tony desperately needed to make Peter see - he needed to get him to _ stop _.

“I know. I get it, Pete-”

“No, you _ don’t! _ ” Peter’s words made Tony’s blood run cold. _ No, kid, don’t make me explain - don’t make me relive- _ “You- you never-”

“My parents,” Tony said softly, having no strength to raise his voice louder. He didn’t want to have to talk about it, but if it helped Peter, well… he would do anything. “Howard and Maria. And Barnes….” Tony took a deep breath, but- no. No, he couldn’t get distracted, not now. “But I made peace with him. You can, too.” _ Please, kid, please move on. _

“This is my chance,” Peter whispered, voice desperate, and Tony took another step closer, so he was almost at Peter’s side. “I- I can finally right his wrongs-”

_ No, no, Peter…. _ “Is this really right?” 

Finally, _ finally _ , Peter met Tony’s gaze, and - and _ there _ were those eyes that Tony had missed so desperately. There were tiny bits of Peter leaking past the cracks of that hard exterior, the movie nights and lab days peaking past the horrors of - gosh, of his _ childhood _.

“Why don’t you give that to me?” he whispered, praying to any deity listening that _ Peter _ would. Peter’s eyes flashed between him and the victim, and his expression seemed to switch between Peter, and… _ not _ Peter. Tony was proud to say the former happened whenever Peter looked at _ him _.

“C’mon, Pete,” he urged desperately. “Spider-Man protects civilians.”

“Even the bad ones?”

Tony thought back to that homecoming night, when Peter saved the Vulture, after he had dug his claws into Peter’s chest and repeatedly slammed him into the ground and - _ no _ , Tony couldn’t get lost in that memory. What mattered was that Peter _ saved _the Vulture, after all that sick man had done to him.

“_ Especially _ the bad ones.”

At last Peter turned his attention away from the victim and _ directly _ to Tony, and Tony wanted to burst into tears at Peter _ finally _coming back to himself - but the next words Peter said made Tony want to cry for a different reason.

“I don’t know how to stop.”

Tony smiled gently. “Okay.” He took a final, deliberate step closer until he was close enough to reach a careful hand up and envelop Peter’s own. “Why don’t we start…” He slowly slipped the knife out from between Peter’s fingers, and - thank _ goodness _, Peter didn’t fight him on it, letting his arm drop to the side. “... with this.”

Peter was distracted, and he didn’t have the knife, and he was crying, and he looked like a kicked puppy-

Tony grabbed Peter’s shoulder and pulled the kid into his embrace, sighing deeply at the feeling of his happy, healthy, _ Peter _ Peter in his arms. The victim inched away from the wall and began to sprint out of the alleyway, and Tony let him. He gripped Peter tighter in protection - whether for the victim’s protection or Peter’s, he didn’t know - but it didn’t matter. The victim had left the alleyway, and he hadn’t gone after Peter, and Peter hadn’t gone after _ him _ \- and Peter was back to normal.

“Friday,” Tony murmured. “Can you-” _ alert the authorities _, he was going to finish, but Friday cut him off.

“Already on it.” Tony smiled at his beautiful creation.

He refocused his attention on his kid - but Peter was _ sobbing _.

Tony disengaged the suit and let it melt back into the small, blue triangle on his chest, relishing in the feeling of his kid, breathing, _ alive _, in his arms. Peter shifted his weight until it was almost entirely on Tony, and he buried his face in Tony’s neck. Tony didn’t mind - he just held Peter tighter.

“What do I say to May?” he whispered, and Tony’s heart shattered at how _ broken _the kid sounded.

“You tell her you saved a life,” Tony answered honestly, but Peter didn’t seem to believe it.

“But I was the one to endanger it….”

_ No. _Tony couldn’t have his kid beating up on himself like this, not when Tony himself knew how this guilt trip ended.

“But you restrained yourself. You fought your instincts and you _ did what was right _ , and I am so, _ so _proud of you.”

Peter sniffled as if he didn’t believe Tony, so Tony just held him tighter. Maybe he didn’t have the words - he never did - but his actions might be enough.

“He knows my name and face-”

“We’ll figure it out,” Tony interrupted, and he knew Friday was already on it. In the meantime, he just held his kid closer. What had happened was a mess, and Tony needed to talk to Peter about it in length - but for now, Peter had been strong. Peter had been strong enough to deny himself something he had wanted for _ months _ , since he held his uncle as he bled out in front of a convenience store in Queens, and Tony was so, _ so _proud of him.

So he held Peter closer, he held _ his kid _ closer, because that’s all he could do - and maybe that was enough for now.


End file.
